Olympics
Five months ago, Kikkan Randall was the first American women to ever medal in an Olympic cross-country skiing event along with teammate, Jesse Diggins in Pyeongchang. Not long ago, Randall announced that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer on social media.
Randall is an American cross-country skier who has won two gold medals, one at the Pyeongchang Olympics and one at the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Four months ago she stood on the podium in Pyeongchang with teammate Jesse Diggins after winning the first Olympic gold medal by an American cross-country skier. She was also the only mother on the U.S. Olympic team this last winter, and just coming off a year-long maternity leave.
However, Randall is not the first Olympian to become diagnosed with breast cancer. Jamaican runner, Novlene Williams-Mills was diagnosed just before the 2012 London Olympics, which she decided to compete in. She then underwent a double mastectomy and decided to train and compete again in Rio, winning a silver medal in the women’s 4×400 meter race. Randall is not going through this battle alone, as 1 in 8 women on average are diagnosed with breast cancer.
According to Randall, she began the first of her six rounds of chemotherapy last week and has been documenting her progress on her blog. According to her prognosis, the cancer was caught early and Randall is positive and trusting the treatment process. She has decided to reside in Anchorage for treatment at Providence Alaska Cancer Center.
Check out Kikkan Randall’s website to learn more about her and her career.Â
